Intel’s 2021 security report has more GPU flaws than AMD’s. However, AMD may be at fault for this increase in reported GPU bugs. So, according to an Intel bug report, a number of AMD flaws have been discovered.
Intel has released its Product Security Report for 2021, and it’s a monster of a document. The study delves into all of the defects, vulnerabilities, and other issues that have affected Intel’s products throughout the year. From a statistical standpoint, there are several intriguing facts to note. Most importantly, it provides a view into how Intel compares to AMD in terms of ‘whose goods are safer than whose,’ as well as how Intel and AMD’s brief comradeship may have resulted in the discovery of the single most vulnerable point in both firms’ armour.
Intel identified a total of 226 vulnerabilities in its product stack in 2021, spanning from issues in ethernet devices to flaws in FPGAs and everything in between and beyond. The vast majority of these vulnerabilities were identified by Intel, while bug bounty schemes and other organizations are responsible for a significant portion of the vulnerabilities disclosed.
Intel’s GPU chips, which had a total of 52 vulnerabilities in 2021, were the single most common source of these flaws. After that, it’s a tie between ethernet goods and software for second place, with both reporting 34 issues during the year.
Dig a little deeper into Intel’s GPU vulnerability statistics, as our friends at Tom’s Hardware have done. You’ll discover that a massive percentage of the company’s GPU vulnerabilities are tied to a small number of CPUs, including the following: Intel Core CPUs with Radeon RX Vega graphics from the 8th generation.
Furthermore, AMD’s software was vulnerable to more than half of Intel’s GPU flaws, which is a significant number.
This results from a brief period of cooperation between Intel and AMD. Intel offered its Kaby Lake Core CPU architecture alongside AMD’s Radeon RX Vega M graphics. At the same time, AMD delivered the Radeon RX Vega M. Intel Hades Canyon gaming NUC, which is the most notable of the Kaby Lake G processors announced in 2018. In addition, the Kaby Lake G chips were used as the foundation for several devices when they were released in 2018.
This Hades Canyon NUC was an elegant minor system at the time, and it served me well as a discreet streaming box during that period. Even though the Intel and AMD project from which it arose never got any farther. Even in 2021, Intel and AMD will be responsible for bug addressing since these CPUs are poisoned chalice for both companies, and they will continue to be so.
A total of 52 vulnerabilities were discovered in Intel’s GPU stack, with 23 of them being connected to the Intel Core CPUs with Radeon RX Vega M graphics. AMD has been assigned 22 of the 23 flaws, primarily identified in the Radeon graphics drivers for Windows, according to the information provided by AMD.
According to the report, an exploitable code has also been discovered in the Radeon software installation.
According to the research, AMD had 27 graphics vulnerabilities disclosed in 2021, which is much lower than the 51 revealed by Intel. On the other hand, Intel has said that it does not directly submit problems discovered by AMD and that it only has access to bugs identified between May and December 2021.
However, both corporations should ensure that their goods are safe, and this includes initiatives such as Kaby Lake G, which have since been abandoned. That’s exactly what AMD has done since AMD-SB-1000 details the mitigations for the CVEs stated in the document.
Moving on to CPUs, Intel claims that 16 newly identified CPU vulnerabilities will be exploited by the end of 2021. The list includes those found by Intel (10) and those discovered as part of the company’s bug bounty program (6).
AMD was found to have 31 vulnerabilities, according to the research. However, that number only includes those identified externally and disclosed within the time in question.
Both firms have recently appeared to increase their efforts in security, particularly in the wake of significant vulnerabilities such as Meltdown and Spectre. However, every year, it becomes even more critical to do so, given that there is seldom a month that goes by without some incidence of hacking, heisting or black hatting.
However, my main point from this study is that Intel and AMD are unlikely to collaborate on any future initiatives.
